Food Lion may be looking to acquire New England-based Hannaford Bros, according to
industry analysts. At the
International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual trade show in Las Vegas this week,
industry experts said Food Lion is one of several chains hoping to take over Hannaford.
‘‘I’d say they
are 100 percent interested in Hannaford,’’ Mark Husson, a senior food and drug
retail analyst at Merrill Lynch, told the Charlotte Observer. ‘‘But as far as
them actually getting it, I’d say the odds are considerably less’’ because
of other suitors, including Safeway.
A Food Lion spokeswoman declined
comment.
Hannaford reportedly is
considered for sale because its largest shareholder recently said it may put its holdings
on the market. Empire Co. Ltd., a Canadian investor that owns 25.7 percent of
Hannaford’s common stock, said earlier this month it would terminate a standstill
agreement preventing Empire from selling its stake.
Bill McCanless, Food Lion’s
new president and chief executive, said recently that making an acquisition this year was
a priority for Salisbury-based Food Lion. He said it also was a key to raising Food
Lion’s stock price and appeasing disgruntled shareholders.
Analysts said a Food
Lion-Hannaford merger would unite two companies that do not have union shops and that
operate in largely rural areas.
Husson said he expects Food Lion
to make a deal within a year. Because of the growing consolidation pressure in the
industry, Husson thinks Hannaford could be bought within the next three months.
Hannaford, based in Scarborough,
Maine, has about 150 stores in eight states. Its 1998 sales totaled $3.3 billion. Food
Lion, with 1,200 stores in 11 states, had 1998 sales of $10.2 billion. |
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